Jeff and Annie versus April and Andy: How Dan Harmon failed Community fans
Community and Parks and Recreation (Parks & Rec) are two popular sitcoms that both began their runs on NBC in 2009. Community lasted six seasons while Parks & Rec made it seven. The shows had many similarities including strong ensembles with future superstars counted among their main cast and a robust and entertaining group of supporting actors with wonderful recurring characters that provided a vibrant and colorful background for every episode. Both shows also established a fun and crazy setting that became an integral supporting “character” in the show (Greendale Community College and Pawnee, Indiana). Another fun element of the shows was that they both included detailed writing that foreshadowed future events while also calling back to previous episodes as well as a large number of easter eggs planted around the sets. However there were also key differences between Community and Parks & Rec with one of the most important being how each handled romantic relationships among its characters.
Community had many romantic pairings over its six year run but most were short lived and superficially written. Jeff and Slater, Troy and Britta, Abed and Rachel, Britta and Rick/Subway, to name just a few. One of the biggest relationship stories was between Shirley and Andre (guest star Malcolm Jamal Warner) which had a few important episodes across multiple seasons. While the writing from an episodic standpoint had excellent quality the show generally lacked strong long term writing demonstrating real growth or evolution of its main characters across seasons. Because of this the show can often feel very static in nature, especially in later seasons after multiple rewatches. The major exception to this was the ongoing romantic subplot between its main character Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) and Annie Edison (Alison Brie). Jeff and Annie’s arc lasted the entire six season run and played a role in many of the shows best episodes, season finales, and the series finale. It also provided one of the few substantial elements of growth and development for characters in the show.
In contrast to Community, Parks & Rec had many more relationship arcs that were superbly interwoven into the shows seven seasons. Ann and Andy, Ann and Mark, Ann and Chris, Ron and Tammy, Leslie and Dave, Leslie, and Ben, and most importantly for this article Andy (Chris Pratt) and April (Aubrey Plaza). Unlike Community, Parks & Rec wrote compelling and entertaining relationship arcs without unnecessary cynicism and open hostility towards the shows fans. The perfect example of the contrasting styles and approach is between Community’s Jeff and Annie arc and the Andy and April arc of Parks & Rec.
Both pairs of characters initially met in the shows first season with small hints of what was to develop. Jeff and Annie met as part of a study group while attending college together while April and Andy met as part of the parks department effort to build a new park across the street from Ann’s house (Andy’s then girlfriend). One of the fascinating aspects of the comparison is that there are many similarities between the two pairing’s including:
- Both men were initially in a relationship (Andy with Ann) or pursuing another woman (Jeff with Britta) when they first met. And both of those initial women were 28 years old. Additionally, neither of the initial pairings had good chemistry or connection between the characters and both pairing’s demonstrated a toxic/unhealthy relationship dynamic where each individual was worse when they are with the other person.
- In both arcs the female character developed a crush on the male character and pursued them. While in each case the male character initially denied the advances of the female character, due to their youth, before eventually admitting their feelings. In Parks & Rec this took until the third season while for Community it took the entire six year run and it didn’t occur until the very end of the series finale episode.
- For both April and Andy and Jeff and Annie the age gap between the pairings was almost the same with both female characters being early in their college life while the men were about 30. To be exact in season one Andy was 30 years old and April was 19 (11 year age gap) while there was a 12 year age gap between Jeff and Annie. It is established in the first four seasons that Jeff was 31 and Annie turned 19 early in season one (How old are Jeff and Annie).
- It should be noted that as part of the cynical and offensive treatment of its fans, near the end of the shows run on NBC, Dan Harmon decided to retcon the age of Jeff Winger to make him 4 years older than initially established in the show. This was done to enable a one off concept episode (G.I. Jeff) and had no justification based on the shows established cannon. It was mostly based on Dan Harmon’s turning 40 and him using the show to deal with whatever personal issues he was having. For the majority of the shows run the age gap between Jeff and Annie was 12 years. In contrast, it appears that Parks & Rec retconned Andy’s age to make him a couple years younger.
- Neither couple was planned by the writers and came about as a result of the natural chemistry between the actors and the inherent connection that developed from how each actor portrayed their respective character.
- One of the most important similarities was that both couples had amazing chemistry and perfectly complemented each other as characters. Each paring brought the best out of their respective partners and enabled them to grow and evolve in a way that made the shows more interesting and enjoyable for the fans.
Both couples were, and are, beloved by the respective fan bases. Within the Community fandom the vast majority of fans love the Jeff and Annie pairing and as the show aired they patiently waited for their favorite couple to finally be given a chance to be together. However, it needs to be noted that there was, and is, a small but vocal toxic element in the Community fandom that criticizes the pairing due to the age gap. These “fans” aggressively bullied not only other fans but also the shows actors, writers, and creator (Dan). This cyber bullying continues to this day on various social media platforms and is a constant topic of argument among the shows fans. Some “fans” of the show also define their entire fandom by being opposed to Jeff and Annie as a couple and seeking out other fans to attack.
A lot of this toxicity and bullying can be placed on the shoulders of Dan Harmon and the writers of Community. While there are a lot of similarities between the Community and Parks & Rec arcs the biggest difference between them was how each shows writers chose to depict the relationship in their respective stories. Parks & Rec embraced the positive aspects of the characters and after several episodes having some drama about whether or not Andy and April would end up together they embraced the pairing and enabled the characters to be together in a healthy and loving relationship. In Parks & Rec’s second season they acknowledged the age gap between April and Andy and showed how April being under 21 made Andy slightly hesitant to ask April out. However, the show didn’t try to infantilize April and allowed the character to grow and mature. As part of a story arc for her turning 21 the writers addressed April’s growth and Andy’s eventual acceptance of his feelings for her. The arc ended in the following season with her and Andy as a couple and eventually married several episodes later. After dealing with the initial concerns over the age gap the writers didn’t return to the issue and just focused on how the characters made each other happy, complimented each other, and then used their dynamic to write fun and enjoyable stories highlighting this for the fans.
Community on the other hand never fully embraced the Jeff and Annie relationship during the show and constantly and repeatedly teased the fans with episodes hinting at, or confirming, the mutual love between the characters. Almost half of the shows 110 episodes have an important Jeff and Annie moment and a clear evolution of feelings between the characters can be traced from season one to season six. While Dan Harmon allowed many compelling and interesting stories between Jeff and Annie he never wrote stories giving them the healthy and loving relationship that the characters and fans deserved. Unfortunately, about once each season Dan Harmon also wrote an unnecessary plot point (such as the age retcon of Jeff at the end of season five) or line of dialog between characters that is used by the toxic fans to attack Jeff and Annie fans. This could be seen as self-criticism of the pairing and is often done in a condescending and cynical way to try and claim there was something creepy or unnatural about two adults falling in love and having a happy and supporting relationship.
Even in the series finale when Jeff finally admits his love to Annie, Dan does it in such a subtle way that many fans entirely miss the true implications of Jeff’s confession, completely misinterpret the dialog between the characters, and ignore the fact that Jeff and Annie can finally (after six years of will they won’t they) be a happy and healthy couple. (For a detailed analysis of the series finale click here)
In recent years Dan Harmon has claimed that he wasn’t willing to write Jeff and Annie in a relationship during the show because a couple TV critics were using their story arc to personally attack him over his harassment of a female writer who worked on his staff. While this may be true, failing to provide the fans with enjoyable stories having Jeff and Annie in the loving and supportive relationship, that both characters deserved, will always be a major failing of the show, and of Dan Harmon.
Endings are important for stories and can provide a cathartic release for fans or ruin years of hard work and storytelling in a final season or even just a final few moments. Some clear examples of polarizing endings include How I Met Your Mother, Lost, and Game of Thrones. For some fans the endings of these shows completely ruin the entire series and makes going back to rewatch them painful and unfulfilling. Sadly, Dan didn’t really want to come back and do a season 6 of Community and it’s clear from the darker tone and cynical storytelling just how unhappy he was in that final season. Unfortunately, how a show ends is important and Dan’s selfish decision to protect his feelings from a couple online writers and his unhappiness with having to continue to do the show tarnished the legacy of one of the most creative, interesting, and unique sitcoms in television history. His decisions throughout the show and in that final season also set up a toxic dynamic in the fandom that has forced fans of the show to endure cyber bullying and disgusting attacks from toxic “fans” who either intentionally, or unintentionally, misunderstand the dialog and plot points in the show.
Fortunately, there is a small sliver of hope for Dan’s, and the shows, redemption. There is growing buzz about a potential Community Movie (https://link.medium.com/Oz5hlXANQhb), and if Dan finally puts in writing what he heavily hinted at in the shows finale the fans may finale get the ending they deserve for Jeff and Annie. A healthy and loving relationship, maybe a wedding, and a final Milady and Milord between the greatest couple in the history of sitcoms….and perhaps the greatest couple in the history of fiction.
